Excitement as OPM hands over house to Alur king
Joy. Locals jubilate in front of the palace at Kaal Atyak Winam that was constructed for Alur King Phillip Olarker Rauni III. PHOTO BY PATRICK OKABA
What you need to know:
- The State minister for Northern Uganda, Ms Grace Kwiyucwiny, who also doubles as area MP in Zombo District, says the kingdom is one of the beneficiaries earmarked to benefit under the programme being spearheaded by OPM to fulfil presidential pledges to the war victims and the general rehabilitation of war affected areas in northern Uganda.
Subjects of Alur king Phillip Olarker Rauni III were excited after the Prime Minister’s Office (OPM) handed over a newly constructed modern palace to the king at the weekend.
The handover of the palace is one of the activities to mark King Olarker’s 9th coronation anniversary celebrations scheduled for October 26.
Locals could not hide their joy at the ceremony that was accentuated with traditional ballads and ululations.
The gift comes in handy after King Olarker abandoned his palace in Atyak Winam in Zombo District as it had become inhabitable.
The palace had been invaded by bats and other reptiles for long and the king was forced to rent a house in Nebbi Town III.
The construction of the palace had taken a series of negotiations and lobbying for funds.
Before the official handover, several rituals were performed by cultural leaders and kingdom elders as a way of ushering in the king as required by the Alur culture.
Hundreds of the king’s subjects converged to witness the handover.
The palace was constructed at the tune of Shs300 million under Northern Uganda Post War Recovery Programme through the OPM as per President Museveni’s earlier pledge at the king’s coronation ceremony in 2010.
One of the elders in Alur Kingdom, Mr Christopher Anwang, says the kingdom has been battling with rent for the last eight years.
He said Alur Kingdom is one of the most recognised and the oldest cultural institutions in Uganda which started in 1949 with palace headquarters at Kaal Atyak Winam in Zombo, but has been underdeveloped.
“It is the right time to celebrate the handover of the residential house given to our king by government because our king is back home in his right palace. Once he returns to live here, this palace will act as a unifying factor for the king’s subjects and also accord the kingdom more respect with restoration of cultural values,” Anwang said.
King Olarker expressed joy over the modern palace and said he had got a home where his subjects will find him to discuss developmental matters.
He urged the government to empower and equip youth with skills such that Alur Kingdom can be developed.
“We are here in preparation to celebrate the 9th coronation anniversary, we must use this home as an avenue for the kingdom’s development,” Mr Olarker said.
The State minister for Northern Uganda, Ms Grace Kwiyucwiny, who also doubles as area MP in Zombo District, says the kingdom is one of the beneficiaries earmarked to benefit under the programme being spearheaded by OPM to fulfil presidential pledges to the war victims and the general rehabilitation of war affected areas in northern Uganda.
Alur kingdom
Alur are an ethnic group who live in northwestern Uganda and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They are part of the larger Luo group.
In Uganda, they live mainly in the Nebbi, Zombo, and Arua districts.
The Alur Kingdom is probably the only one that was unaffected by the Ugandan ban on traditional monarchies in 1966.[2] All Alur Kings are referred to as “Rwoth”, just like all Luo Chiefs and Kings. The current Alur King is Rwoth Phillip Rauni Olarker, whose coronation was in 2010.
When the Europeans arrived, the Alur people were organised in 10 chiefdoms, namely: Angal, Juganda, Jukoth, Mukambu, War Palara, Panduru, Ukuru, Paidha, Padeo and Panyikano.
